Brazil excites globetrotter Michael Palin

Marty Silk

An old python who’s also been an elephant and fears being reborn as John Cleese’s daughter is still as passionate as ever about exploring the world.

Sir Michael Palin, former Monty Python member and now a celebrated travel writer, says a Himalayan fortune teller told him that in a past life he was an elephant and he would be reborn as a girl into a rich, white family on the US west coast.

‘‘At the time (Monty Python co-star) John Cleese had just moved there,’’ Palin told AAP.

‘‘I thought ‘s, I’m going to be his daughter, oh no’.’’

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He said luckily he still had the energy to enjoy this life, having just finished a new book and television series entitled Brazil, about his travels around South America’s biggest country.

Even after years of globetrotting, Palin still has a taste for adventure.

‘‘Absolutely, I really do, even when I come to Brisbane,’’ he said.

‘‘I’m still so excited. I love getting into port, leaving a train station and even taking off from an airport.’’

‘‘I don’t pull down the shutters in my hotel room. I stand there looking out my window at what’s going on all the time.

‘‘I’m a sucker for it all.’’

Brazil is an exploration of the vast country Palin sees as a future world leader.

‘‘It was a real gap in my knowledge. I just had to find out,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s an eclectic mix of religions, races and attitudes.

‘‘But, surprisingly, it makes for a certain amount of harmony.’’

Palin visits Amazonian tribes, shakes his body on a transsexual float at a gay pride march, strolls on the beach in Rio and marvels at the majesty of the Iguacu waterfalls.

In canoes, buses, cars and even skyscraper-hopping in helicopters, Palin delves into the heart of what it means to be Brazilian.

‘‘There’s a relaxed attitude. It’s partly the climate, but also a great sense of pride,’’ he said.

‘‘With a booming economy and the upcoming Olympics and World Cup, you really feel the place is on the move.

The first episode of Michael Palin’s Brazil will screen on ABC1 at 7:30pm on Sunday night.AAP